Across the Line
by The Princess Wolf
Summary: My version of Eclipse...What happens when the Cullens have to protect Bella from Victoria and her new coven? They must turn to Jacob and the pack to help keep her safe. Finally named!
1. The Surprise

CHAPTER 1

"Bella" came a soft, velvet voice. "Wake up."

I peeked through my groggy lids and glanced into the face an angel, my angel.

"Why?" I muttered. "School's over." I turned back over onto my side. "I don't have to wake up early anymore."

"We're going to my house, Alice has a surprise for you."

I groaned out loud. A surprise from Alice was never a good thing. Sometimes it involved shopping, other times it involved make up, but either way, it was never something I looked foreward to. "Do I have to?"

"Don't be that way," Edward said, trying to hide his laughter. "Besides, I made her swear not to do anything to bad."

He saw the look on my face and continued. "I promise, this is something you will like."

I sat up groggily and rubbed my eyes. The soft light was pouring through my window and filling the room. Edward gleamed in the light. I smiled and he gave me a soft kiss on the lips. "Take your human moment. I'm going to the house, I'll be back before you're done."

"Promise?" I asked him.

"Swear." He stood up and climed through the window. "Charlie went up to La Push early this morning. He's going to Billy's to help build a ramp in front of their house, the old one is wearing out. He left a note downstairs."

I walked across the room and had my hand on the door knob, but his voice stopped me. "I love you, Bella."

I turned back towards the window, but he was already gone, the curtains ruffled from his quick disappearance.

The water in the shower was hot, and it felt good on my back. I hadn't been sleeping well lately, and Edward knew that. He felt was responsible for the terrifing dreams I was having every other night. Every dream started differently, but always ended up the same way, with Edward's death. Sometimes he was alone, never realizing that I was alive, and sometimes I was with him and he died in my arms. But every time, I wake up with the horrifying image of Edward Cullen dead, and every time, my heart rips in half. But I am soon thrown back into reality and the pieces of my broken heart are slowly sewn back together by my angel.

I got out of the shower and dressed silently. I avoided looking in the mirror lately. My appearance wasn't normally amazing, but here recently it was more than a little under par.

There were dark bags under my eyes and every day was a bad hair day. I was always tired and my muscles ached for sleep. Edward was beating himself up over my sleepiness. Begging him to give himself a break was useless. After all, if I thought he had died, I'd probably be on a suicidal path as well. Luckily I saved him from crashing at the dead end of his.

Edward was in the driveway by the time I had finished eating breakfeast. I had begun to worry, usually Edward was waiting for me in my room after I got out of the shower.

I climbed into his shiny silver volvo, the familiar smell easing my worry a little. He pulled out of the driveway and drove down the road at his usuall unusuall speed. The silence slowly filled every crevice in the car until it was too much to bear.

"Where were you this morning?" I aske him with a worried tone I hadn't meant for him to hear.

He gripped my hand and turned onto the road that lead to the house I love. "I was no where of any great inportance. Now," he smiled a mischevious smile, "be nice to Alice."

I groaned and laid my head on his shoulder, inhaling his wonderful scent. I couldn't begin to imagine what the surprise could be. Usually, whenever Alice wanted to use me as her own human barbie doll, Edward jumped to my aid and tried to persuade her to leave me alone. Sometimes he'd save me, but most of the time Alice got her way. That's why it was so unlike Edward to thrust me into the hands of his lovely sister.

We pulled up to the house and I got out of the car. I hadn't even taken a step before Edward was at my side, gripping my hand in his iron grasp. We were half way to the house when Alice suddenly appeared at the front door. Her face looked scarred and her voice was panicked.

"Edward! Catch her!"

I had no idea what she was talking about. Then, out of no where, there was a sharp stabbing pain in my side and I recognized the familiar feel of falling.


	2. Appendectomy

Chapter 2

I woke up on the white couch in the Cullen's living room. Edward was sitting on the floor next to me, his head resting on my forearm, his hand intertwined with mine. Alice was pacing around the living room talking quietly into the small silve cell phone I recognized. I couldn't tell what she was saying, but I could make "Carlisle" every now and then. I took a deep breath and Edward eyes met mine in one of those inhumanly quick movements.

"Bella," he sighed. His eyes would have been brimming with tears if his inhumman body could produce them. "I was so worried. Carlisle is on his way. I didn't know what to do, you just collapsed in my arms."

He closed his eyes and kissed my hand over and over.

"It's okay, I'm fine now." I tried to sit up, but got dizzy. Edward's cool hands gently pushed my shoulders back onto the couch. "Maybe not."

"Bella," his voice was now concerned again as his hands traced the features of my face. "Bella, you're burning up. Alice, tell Carlisle that she's running a fever."

I saw Alice nod from where she was still pacing and continued talking into the small silver phone. "Yes, that's what we're doing. She's not going anywere untill you get here."

I glanced over at Edward who was lighly kissing my hand again. I smiled at him and brushed my hands across his cheekbone. "Mmm, pleasant." He mumbled.

Then the pain came back. I dubbled up on the couch and pulled my knees to my chest. I couldn't stand it anymore, I let out a scream of pain and gasped for air.

"Bella!" Edward yelled. "What's wrong? Bella please, look at me!"

His hand left mine and had moved to my shoulders. He was gently shaking me and his voice was becoming more and more panincked. "Bella, please." he whispered.

I opened my eyes and tears fell over onto my cheeks. "It hurts," was all I was able to mumble.

"Bella," Alice said, "Carlisle is coming. He'll be here in a few minutes, can you hold on 'till then?"

I nodded and gripped Edward's hand. He stood up and sat onto the couch, pulling me onto his lap and huggin me as tightly as he could without hurting me. I gritted my teeth and waited for Carlisle to come.

I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep, but I woke up to hear Carlisle murmering to Edward and Alice.

"It looks like appendicitis. She'll have to have it removed, we should get her to the hospital as soon as possible. You two take her and tell Dr. Corbin to admitt her and I'll be there shortly. I need to inform Charlie."

"No, he'll be too worried." I mumbled from the couch.

"It'll be fine, Bella." Alice said. "Trust me."

"Okay."

"Bella, we're going to drive you to the hospital." Alice said.

"Okay."

"I'm going to carry you out to my car, is that okay?" Edward asked, not wanting to hurt me.

"Okay."

I felt Edward's cold arms lift me off of the couch and carry me out the front door. I felt him slide me into the back seat of the volvo. I grabbed his hand when he went to close the door. "Stay with me."

It was his turn to say "okay."

He slid in next to me and closed the door. Without saying a word Alice opened the door on the driver side and jumed in while Edward cradled me in his arms.

"Edward." I musttered.

"Hm?"

"What did Carlisle say was wrong with me?"

"It's your appendix. Carlisle is going to remove it when we get to the hospital." He stated. I snuggled closer to my angel. I was asleep again before we reached the hospital.

"Bella," a soft, faint voice called from somewhere far off. "You're going to feel a small pinch, but it shouldn't hurt."

I nodded, but was too tired to answer.

Soon I was lulled back to sleep by the faint beeping of a near by machine.

"Everything went splendidly. The appendix came out with no complications so she should be able to go home tonight Cheif Swan."

"Please, call me Charlie."

"Charlie. The only thing we should be worried about is infection. So just keep this ointment on the stitches and bring her back in a week to have them removed."

"Thank you Dr. Cullen."

I stirred in the hard bed after hearing the short conversation between my father and the father of my love.

"Hey, dad." I said groggily. "When did you get here?"

"Just before you went into surgury. Honey, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm so glad you were with Edward. It was his quick thinking that got you here. Just think of what would have happened if you were home alone!"

He was starting to get hysterical so I interupted him. "Dad, you have to be like Mom. She learned a long time ago to trust my ability to make friends who understand my constant need of medical attention. You're lucky actually. In Pheonix I never knew anyone who had an amazing doctor for a dad."

This seemed to relax him a little, but not much. He turned back to Carlisle and began asking complicated question about what I should and shouldn't eat and how often he should change the bandage over the stitches.

"Charlie, lets go outside and I'll answer any questions you have. Let Bella get some sleep. She's had a long day." Carlisle said, ushering Charlie out the door. I gave him a look of huge gratitude. Just as they were walking out the door, Edwad walked through it.

"Edward." I breathed. I had never been so happy to see him.

"My dear, I'm afraid you'll live." he said smiling.

"That's the real tragedy isn't it?"

His face turned cold. "Bella, if you would have died, I don't know what I would have done. I can't loose you again."

"There is a way to prevent that you know. And it _is_ after graduation." I said.

"I know. It's just, right now is not the greatest time. But I promise, soon."

I was shocked. This was the first time he didn't object as soon as the words were out of my mouth. He didn't even ask me to marry him again. I stared into his eyes. They were dark, he needed to hunt.

"What's wrong, Edward?" I asked him.

"It's nothing. Really. Just something we need to deal with later. It's nothing important." He gave me a reasuring smile that did nothing but worry me more.

"I love you." I told him.

"Forever." he replied. "Now, let's see if I can spring you out of here a little early."


	3. She's Back

Chapter 3

It had been a week since my appendectomy. So far, nothing had gone wrong, even the cutting of the stitches went fine. No infection, no bleeding, nothing.

But Edward's behavior had gotten worse. His hunting trips had become longer and he was keeping secrets from me. I just knew it. He just wasn't telling me anything.

I would catch the looks he would give Alice when we were at his house. Like she was telling him something she didn't want me to know. It was on one of these occasions that I had finally had enough.

"What are you two up to?" I asked suddenly one night. We were sitting at the round dinning room table, me eating the dinner that Jasper learned to make, especially for me. Alice, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett were talking too quietly for my human ears.

"It's nothing, Bella." Alice said sweetly, too sweetly.

"Don't tell me it's nothing!!!! It's been nothing for the past week! It's driving me insane, these little secrets you have!" I slammed my fists down on the table harder than I meant to.

I stood up and stormed out of the dinning room, nearly knocking over my chair as I went. I blew through the living room and threw open the front door, marched down the steps and began to walk home. I knew I wouldn't get out of sight of the house before Edward would come get me, and I was right.

"Bella please, you have to understand." his voice was pleading, so I listened. "We don't know that much right now. It's just, Bella, we're trying to protect you."

"Protect me from what? Edward," I grabbed his hand in the dark. "You can tell me anything."

After a moment of deliberation, he finally gave in and looked me straight in the eyes and took a deep breath. "It's Victoria. She's coming for you."

I inhaled sharply and gripped Edward's hand tighter.

"She's staying outside of Forks, though."

I couldn't breath.

"Bella?" My grip on his hand tightened. "Are you okay?"

"She's coming?"

"I'm afraid so. We didn't want to tell you, but, well...Bella, that's not all."

I gazed at him in horror. "What? Tell me."

"She has brought a new coven with her."

Suddenly, with the news of Victoria, the darkness closed around my eyes.


	4. Promises

Chapter 4

I woke up in Edward's room, soft classical music was coming from his stereo system. I sat up to find Edward himself sitting at the other end, drawing circles up and down my legs with his fingers.

"Are you okay?" he asked me.

"Ugh," I grunted, "I seem to be doing this a lot lately."

"You've had excellent reasons to, though." He smiled his crooked smile, the one that could wake the dead.

"What's the plan?" I asked him.

"Well, we were going to send you to Florida for a while, to visit your mom. That was supposed to be Alice's surprise. But we sent Emmett and Jasper a couple of days ago to check things out and it appears that Victoria has lookouts stationed there." He stopped at my sharp intake of oxygen. "Don't worry, Bella. I don't think she is going to be like James, it's likely of her to involve your mother. She just wants you."

I put my face in my hands. How could this be happening all over again? The ones I loved were in more danger now than I ever could imagine.

"Bella, I promise you," he said, cupping my face in his stone hands, "Everything will be alright."

I threw my arms around his cold neck and sat with him until I remembered Charlie. "I have to go home! Charlie is never going to let me out of the house again!"

I stood up and rushed towards the door, only to be pulled back towards the couch by a cool pair gentle arms. "Don't worry, Alice took care of things." He smiled and kissed my cheek.

"Oh, really." I said. This is usually what happened when I wanted to stay at the Cullen's house. Alice would ask Charlie if I could spend the night to do some girly thing, or tell him we would be home really late so it would be better to just stay with her.

It was only on very rare occasions that I actually did stay with Alice. Like when Edward went out hunting with the rest of the boys.

"Where have I been tonight?" I asked Edward playfully, twisting a strand of his bronze hair around my index finger.

"You were in Port Angeles, car shopping because Alice couldn't stand being driven around all the time." He smiled playfully.

"Hmm, I can understand that." I told him. Edward didn't let me drive my truck when we went anywhere because he complained of the low speed. "So, what's next?"

"To tell you the truth," he said, eyes focused on my hands. "I'm not sure. Carlisle is trying to work out a plan. But it's like she's always one step ahead of us. We've been scouting places for you to hide, but everywhere we look, she's got someone there already."

I tighted my grip on his hand.

"Bella, I promise, no matter what happens, I'll protect you." His eyes were full of determination.

"But what if she kills you? Then I'll have nothing to live for."

"Don't say that! Never say that. As long as you're alive then there's something. Life is something to live for! It doesn't matter if I'm not here, you'll have Alice and Esme. I know that Rose isn't too fond of you yet, you just have to give her time. Bella, please, listen to me."

My eyes had wondered to his wall of music. I was trying to hold back the tears.

"Bella, you have to promise me. Promise me that if something does happen to me, that you'll keep on going. You'll live your life to the fullest. Promise me Bella, right now, say it."

I couldn't stop the tears now. They were flowing freely down my cheeks. I looked into the eyes of my angel and couldn't believe he was making me promise this. Making me swear to do something I already failed at. I could feel the hole in my chest trying to open again. I remembered the feeling of the raw edges eating at me. How could I make a promise I already knew I'd break?

"I can't promise that, Edward. I can't go through that again. I've tried, I thought I'd die without you!"

"But you didn't, Bella. You found a way to live. You found a way to keep your head above the darkness. Bella, I know you can do it again. Please, promise me." He pulled me into an iron caged hug and I cried on his shoulder, staining his shirt with my tears.

"I'll try, but I don't think I can do it."

"Bella, please." he said, his eyes boring holes into my soul.

"Okay," I sniffed. "I promise."

I don't know how long we sat there, him humming in my ear, me sniffling and trying not to think of the promise I had made. It must have been hours. But soon Alice came and gently knocked on the door.

She smiled at me when I looked up at her. "Hey Bella. Are you feeling better?"

I nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Um, well Carlisle would like to talk to you, if you have a minute." She sounded a little nervous.

"About what?" I asked, not wanting to let go of my hold on Edward.

"I have no idea." She said innocently.

I glanced at Edward. "I don't know either. He's blocking me."

I stood up and gave my angel a kiss. "I'll be right back."

"Until then." he replied.

I walked down the hall into Carlisle's office. I recognized the room from the first time I'd been here. I hadn't been in here since, but on rare occasions when Carlisle wanted to talk to me about something important.

I glaced at the extremely young looking man sitting behind the desk. His beautiful blonde hair gleaming in the light. He was looking down at some papers on his desk, I was sure he heard me from a mile away, but coughed to announce my prescence anyway.

"Hello, Bella." he said sweetly as I sat down in one of the chairs in front of him. "Good to see you. Feeling better?"

"Much." I said. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Yes, well, I'm sure Edward has informed you of our situation regarding Victoria."

I nodded to show he did.

"Well, I've come up with a way of keeping you protected. We have two options. One, you can go with Edward to Alaska and stay with Denali coven until we've sorted things out down here. I doubt Victoria would dare attack you there. You'd be well protected."

"No," I said flatly. Ever since I had come back from Pheonix after my encounter with James, I had never really wanted to leave Forks. I had never realized how much I loved it until then, it was my home. I and didn't want to leave the rest of the Cullens, no matter how safe it was somewhere else.

"I thought you'd say that." he replied with a smile. "But our other option depends entirly upon you, Bella."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Bella, we need you to go talk to Jacob Black."

Edward let out a loud roar and then I heard something crash.

"That is why he's not in here." Carlisle laughed. "But Bella, we want to keep you safe, but with Victoria's new numbers, we can't do that without some extra security. We can't make sure she doesn't come here by ourselves. Do you understand what I am asking?"

"I, I think so. You want me to ask Jake for help."

"Exactly. Bella, this is very important. Do not give up on him. We want to renegotiate our agreement, so to speak."

"I understand. But, Carlisle, Jacob won't even talk to me. Billy doesn't like me very much any more, and I'm sure the rest of the pack feels the same way."

"Bella, this is up to you. It's your choice if you want to stay here."

"I do, it's just, well this is going to be really hard."

"Like I said," he stated as he stood up. "Don't give up on him."

"Okay, I'll try. But what if it doesn't work? What will we do, I want Alaska to be a last resort."

He walked around his desk and put a hand on my shoulder. "Bella, we love you, we don't want to exile you to Alaska. We will think of something."

He smiled and led me out of the room. I headed back to Edward while Carlisle went downstairs.

I walked into the room to find Alice just leaving. I found Edward spread out on his couch with his face in his hands. His stereo was in pieces on the floor.

"Edward. It's the only way." I said, climbing on top of him and laying my head on his chest.

"I know, I just hate having to leave your safety in the hands of an over grown dog."

I slapped him lightly on the chest.

"What was that for?" He asked, looking at me with a shocked expression on his face.

"When I was hanging out with Jacob, he tried to call you some awful names, but I wouldn't let him. Even though I thought you left me for good. So don't talk like that about him. It's not his fault he is a little furry."

He laughed and turned me over onto my side so that we were laying face to face. He traced my jaw with one hand and held onto my waist with the other. I put mine on his neck and played with his soft hair.

"I love you." he said.

"I love you, too." I said. "And I'll love you even more when you let me drive up to La Push tommorrow by myself."

A small rumble escaped from his chest. "I suppose I have to."

"I love you." I said.

"Sleep now. You're going to have a hard time talking to Black if you fall asleep on the drive up there and wreck your truck."

"Okay," I said and closed my eyes.

I fell asleep to the beautiful sound of Edward humming our lullaby into my ear.


	5. Negotiations

Chapter 5

I knocked on the old front door of the Black residence.

_Don't be home. Please don't be home. _I repeated this in my head over and over.

It was Saturday and I knew Billy wouldn't be home, I was counting on Jacob not being there either. But, as luck would have it, after the third knock, a tired looking Jacob Black opened the door, took one look at who had been knocking, and slammed it back shut.

"Jacob, please!" I yelled through the closed door. "I really need to talk to you!"

No answer.

"I can wait all day!"

Still no answer.

"I can wait until Billy comes home!"

The door opened.

"What do you want, Bella?" he sounded annoyed and angry, I was prepared for that.

"I really need to talk to you. It's really important, a matter of life and death."

"Your life, or your death?" he replied coldly.

"Both."

He opened the door all the way and walked back into the house. I followed him and closed the door behind me. He sat down on the couch in the small living room and turned to face me.

"What?"

"Jake, I need your help." I said in a pleading voice, still standing by the door.

"What could I possibly do for you that your leech boyfriend couldn't?" his tone was mocking.

"Jacob please, just listen. This is serious, I wouldn't be here if I thought for one second you hated me. I know that you're hurt, but please, I still want to be your friend." I could feel the tears brimming and fought to hold them back.

"Well, you thought wrong. And there's no possible way I would ever even think about being your friend." He stood up and walked back to his room, slamming the door behind him.

I stood in his living room, shocked. I krept out the front door and got into my truck. I sat there as the rain got harder, bluring my view of the house. Before I knew it, I had curled up on the seat and had cried myself to sleep.

Sometime later there was a nock on the driver side window. I sat up with a jolt, almost hitting the window with my head. I turned and looked into the eyes of the person who had woken me up.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" Sam Uley asked as I opened the door.

"I need to talk to you, it's really important, but Jake is so mad it me. I don't know what to do. Will you get him to talk to me?"

"I can try, but I'm not going to any great lengths for you." he said, emphasizing the you.

I walked behind him up to the house, it had stopped raining, but the ground was still soggy and wet, so I was carefull with my steps. Sam opened the door without knocking and motioned for me to follow. I sat on the sofa while he went to get Jacob. I could hear the two arguing, but finally Sam re-entered the living room with a sullen Jacob following behind.

"Bella, we're going to listen to what you have to say. But I'm not saying we will help you." Sam said, being the diplomat person he was.

"Okay, well, where to start?" I questioned myself. "Well, you remember Victoria, the red haired vampire? You never caught her when she was here to get me."

I stopped to take a breath.

"She's back. We...I need your help. She's here with a new coven." I looked down at my fingers and picked at a hole that had formed in the knee of my jeans. No doubt from the many times I'd fallen down.

"Why do you need us? Why can't you just fly off somewhere with your _boyfriend_?" Jacob sneered.

"Because," I shot back at him. "She's got people stationed everywhere we could go. And besides, I don't want to leave. This is my home, surely you can understand that? We want to protect it just as much as you do."

"So what do you want us to do?" Sam interupted.

"I'm not sure." I hadn't expected to get through to Jacob this soon, Carlisle didn't tell me what to say. "I think we should arrange a meeting of some sort. Do you think we could do that?"

There was silence for a moment, Jake and Sam staring at each other for a while, neither saying anything.

Sam turned to me. "We have to discuss it with the rest of the pack first. Go home for now, Jacob will call you in a few days."

I stood up and left the two men who were talking animatidly about what had just occured. I was almost at my truck when I heard the door open. I turned to see Jacob half running towards me.

"Bella," he said when he reached me. "I just, I , I just wanted to appologize. For what I said earlier. I didn't really mean it. I just, I'm sorry."

"Jake, I knew you couldn't have meant it, not really. I still really want to be your friend."

"I can't promise anything, Bells. But I can try. It hurts me to see you with him, you know, after what he did to you."

"He never meant to hurt me, he left to protect me." I said, trying to convince him.

"Whatever," he was getting irratated again. "I call you soon."

"Okay, bye Jake."

I got into my truck and fired up the old engine. I watched Jacob go back inside the small house. I pulled away and started on the drive home, proud of myself for finally getting Jacob Black, stubborn Jacob Black, my Jacob Black, to talk to me again.


	6. Let's Talk

Chapter 6

I was a nervous wreck. Jacob called the day after my journey to La Push.

"The pack has agreed to meet with your leeches."

"Jake," I mumbled. "Please don't call them that."

"Whatever," he continued. "In two days have your friends meet us at the border of our territories. In two days, around sundown."

"Okay," I said.

_Click. _"Bye, Jake." I whispered into the dead reciever.

I hung up the phone and walked upstairs to find my own personal greek god lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, still as a marble statue. "Hi."

"Hey," I replied, climbing onto the bed next to him. "What are you thinking about?"

"How I'm going to control myself in front of those dogs in two days." His eyes were still on the ceiling.

"Don't worry, I'll be there to protect you." I laughed and nuzzled into the crook of his arm.

"I'm still debating about that." Edward murmered.

"What?" I yelped, sitting straight up.

"Bella, think seriously for once." He said, sitting up next to me and wrapping one arm around my waist. "Do you honestly think that I would let you be within a mile of a pack of werewolves meeting with a coven of vampires?"

"But I'm the whole reason why you all are meeting!" I protested.

"It's my decision." he said smuggly.

"Well, lets just see what Carlisle has to say about it." I stood up and walked to the window.

"You can't always go running to Carlisle when I don't agree with you." Edward said, catching me by the waist.

"Yes I can, because Carlisle and I think the same. We think logically." I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Really?" he questioned, raising one eyebrow. "Is that how you were thinking over spring break last year? Logically."

"Yes, as a matter of fact I was." I stopped my foot on the ground. We both looked at the door automatically, making sure I hadn't woken Charlie. I looked back at Edward when I was sure we were alone in our conversation.

"Bella," he sighed in frustration. He placed his hands on both sides of my head. "I love you too much to argue with you."

I smiled at him, knowing I had won this battle. I wrapped my arms around him, never wanting to let go.

I sat in the back seat of Emmett's jeep and watched as the sun set lower in the sky. We were still in front of the white Cullen house, but Carlisle had instructed me to wait where I was now so that he could talk to Edward. Alice was sitting next to me, obviously listening into the converstation going on inside. I glanced over at her and gave her a pleading look.

"Relax," she said, sensing my nervousness. "So far, I haven't had any visions about this going badly."

When I stayed tense, she grabbed my hand in hers. "It's going to go fine. They plan on staying peacefull as long as we do."

My muscles loosened a little, but I new that it was hard for Jacob to control his temper whenever I mentioned Edward. It would be much harder for him, and the rest of the pack, to stay cool while a whole group of vampires met them face to face.

Edward came out of the house, anger spread across his face. Alice climbed into the front passanger seat while Edward came and sat next to me. He didn't bother to buckle his own seatbelt, but fussed over mine, clasping the many silver clamps within seconds.

Emmett got into the drivers seat and pulled out onto the road that lead toward La Push. We rode in silence until I spoke up.

"So, what's the plan?"

Emmett kept his eyes on the road while Alice glanced out the window in the dimming sunlight.

"Well," Edward started. "We're not quite sure yet. It just depends on what their pack will agree to. We're hoping that they will agree to erase the borders for now so that we can can plan better escape routes. If we can go into their territory and them into ours, we can keep Victoria farthur from us."

He was still keeping something from me. "Is that it?"

"Well, we want to work out a system so that you're never alone. We're hoping that we can take shifts, well, guarding you. Like when we hunt, or go on patrols."

I gave him a strange look, not knowing what patrols were.

"Haven't you noticed that our hunting trips have gotten longer and longer?"

I stared at him, lost in thought. I had noticed the extended periods of time when I wouldn't see Emmett and Jasper, or when I'd be expecting Edward to come into my room hours before he actually did. If I were dating a human boy, I'd have suspected him of cheating by now.

"What are you thinking about?"

"What will happen."

"Please Bella, don't be worried. Everything will be fine," he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close to him.

I snuggled into him and waited for the bumpy ride to end as the sun sank down below the trees.

I was gripping Edward's neck as hard as I could. I thought running with him was scary before, now it was too dark for me to see anything, making it so much more terrifying.

We came to a stop in a small clearing. Edward chuckled softly when I didn't let go of my choke hold.

"Need help?" He whispered.

"Please." I replied. He reached around gently set me on the ground, making sure I was stable before letting me go.

He reached out and caught a bulky flashlight that Alice had tossed in my direction.

"I wish now more than ever that I had your eyesight." I mumbled, stumbling over sticks and tree roots as we moved towards the center of the large clearing.

"Ah, but to have this sight would mean to see the sights we see, and no one wants to see the sights that are seen in the dark," Emmett said, being all cryptic.

"What are you talking about?" Alice asked.

"I don't even think he knows sometimes," mumbled a grumpy Rosalie. She wasn't happy about being here, but Emmett had pursuaded her that it was what was best for the family. So, for the time being, Emmett was the one in her line of fire.

We stood in the center of the clearing and waited. Nothing happened, and the sun was almost completely gone. I flicked on the flashlight and pointed the bright beam of light towards the trees directly in front of us.

I heard a loud howl coming from the other side of the clearing and dropped the flashlight, causing the beam of light to die.

I gasped out loud and felt Edward's cool arm around my waist. I heard a rustling noise in front of me and felt the hard plastic of the flashlight being pressed gently back into my palm.

When the beam flashed back to life, I almost dropped the flashlight again. Standing in the small pool of light was the pack, wearing nothing but cut off sweat pants, all of them but Sam shaking from head to foot.

"Okay," Edward said, stepping forward. "Let's talk."

A/N: Sorry it took soooo long to update, but my sisters have taken it upon themselves to dwindle down my constant computer time. They have commandeered(sp?) our computer and refuse to get off when I ask. 'Tis a sad, sad day when Melanie can't update. ( I'll try to work harder and update sooner. )


	7. Agreed

Chapter 7

In a matter of minutes, Emmett and Jasper had gathered a pile of dead branches and had lit them, creating enough light in the small clearing for me to see every face of both parties. I glanced around to see Jacob staring at me. My eyes met his and his shaking became more violent. Edward's cold arm slid around my waist and he pulled me closer to his solid body.

I couldn't breathe, but it had nothing to do with Edward's grip on me.

I watched as Sam stepped away from the rest of the pack. I looked nervously at the group surrounding myself and found they were all looking at Carlisle. After a moment of hesitation he stepped forward also, meeting Sam in between the two groups. He held out his hand slowly towards the werewolf in front of him.

Sam shook his hand cooly, as if they weren't mortal enemies. "Hello Carlisle."

"Sam," he said flatly.

"I understand you wish to speak with us about the treaty."

"Yes. There is a coven of vampires threatening this area," he started to reply, but was cut off by an angry Paul.

"We already know that, and they're standing right in front of us. What else is new?" he exclaimed, almost yelling.

"Victoria has found a group of vampires willing to join her in a hunt."

"What are they hunting?" Embry asked, raising one eyebrow.

Carlisle hesitated before answering solomly. "Bella."

A low growl ascaped Edwards lips but I elbowed him in the ribs. I could see Jacob who had begun to calm down start shaking once again.

"I'm sure you have run across one or two members of her coven trying to get to Forks through La Push."

Sam nodded.

"We wish to, join forces, if you will, for a while to ensure the safty of Bella. I'm sure you wish to keep her safe just as much as we do."

Sam looked over at Jacob before nodding again. "Go on."

"I propose we mesh the borders for the time being so that we can transfer Bella back and forth between our two groups. We want someone to be with her at all times."

I clung to Edward's side as I listened to Carlisle and Sam discussing their plan of action. I didn't look at Jacob, even though I could feel his eyes never leave me.

"We will go to no extra lengths to help you. We will not go onto your land, but you have temporary permission to be on ours. We will do our best to protect Miss Swan while she is on our land."

"That's all we can ask. Thank you for your time." Carlisle shook Sam's hand again and turned back towards us but stopped and looked back at the leader of the pack. "Would you like us to put out the fire?"

"We have it under control."

"Okay then, we will contact you soon."

And with that Edward softly lifted me onto my arms and placed me on his back. He ran back to the cars and placed me in the back set me gently into the back of Emmett's jeep.

We rode back to the Cullen house in silence. Everyone walked into the front door ahead of me. I stopped Edward before he went inside.

"It's bad isn't it?" I asked him, locking my arms around his waist. He pulled me into an iron hug and rested his head on my own.

"I'm afraid so."

I felt moisture rising to my eyes and fought it back. "I'll love you forever."

"And always," he replied, stroking my hair softly.

"I should get you home, tomorrow Charlie doesn't go into work until lunch time, remember?"

I nodded.

"I'll be there as soon as you close the front door."

Instead of driving me home we ran, so that he wouldn't have to waste any time taking his Volvo back to his house.

I went inside to the dark house and found Charlie sitting in front of the television. I glanced at the clock on th wall and found that it wasn't as late as I had thought.

"Hey dad," I said as I passed him. "I'm going to bed."

"I was thinking we could go out to breakfeast tomorrow." He said, ripping his vision away from the t.v.

"Sure dad." I replied and headed up the stairs.

I opened my door to find my own greek god lounging on my bed. Without changing I fell into his arms and drifted to sleep.


	8. Austin Marshall

Chapter 8

I opened my eyes and saw Edward sitting in the rocking chair next to the window, the small silver cell phone the I recognized in his hand. He was speaking too softly for me to hear, but I knew it was important.

I stood up and walked slowly to the bathroom. I combed my hair and pulled it into a pony tail, avoiding the mirror all together. My appearance was still not that great.

"Bella," Charlie's voice called, stopping me on my way back to my room.

"Yeah, Dad?" I called back, not going down the stairs.

"Where do you want to go for breakfeast?"

Crap. "Um, wherever you want. When do you want to leave?"

"Whenever you're ready."

I half sprinted back to my room, storming through the door only to stop dead in my tracks a second later.

Edward wasn't there.

I ran to the open window and looking down at the driveway. He wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Edward?" I whispered into the crisp morning air. "Where are you?"

I gave up and walked to my closet, pulling out an outfit for the day and throwing it on, not really caring how it looked.

I headed down the stairs and ran into Charlie, wearing a button down shirt and slacks. I felt bad that I hadn't taken longer on my appearance. I smiled at him to show I was ready to go.

I followed him through the front door and was shocked to find a very twitchy looking Alice in the driveway, stepping out of Rosalie's beautiful red car.

"Hey, Alice." Charlie said merrily. She pranced towards us and gave Charlie a soft kiss on the cheek and hugged myself.

"Good morning, Charlie. Where are you two headed this fine day?" she asked, though I was sure she already knew the answer before the she left her house.

"We're on our way out to breakfeast, would you like to join us?" He loved Alice, even though he hadn't completely forgiven the whole Cullen family for leaving me the way they did. I tried to explain it to him so he would understand, but there was no use.

"Sure, if it's okay with Bella that is." She smiled at me.

"Of course it is Alice, you shouldn't even ask." I walked up next to her. "Where's Edward?" I knew Charlie wouldn't hear, I could barely hear it.

"Later," she mouthed. "So, Charlie, what have you been up to?"

"Oh, not much. Just work and fishing with Billy Black."

She opened the back door of the police cruiser and hopped in. I climbed in next to her, not wanting to be rude.

"Sounds like fun, I don't fish. I went once with Emmett and couldn't get the smell out of my hair for a week." she replied, giggling. The entire time she was talking she was glancing around the back of the car. I guessed she was contemplating her escape if she were ever arrested.

We pulled up to a small resturant owned by the parents of a boy from my english class last year, I couldn't remember his name. We got out of the cruiser and walked inside, sat down at a table, and waited for our server.

"So, Alice," Charlie stated. "Where are you planning to go to college?"

"Well, Bella and I were just discussing this the other day. I'm not so worried about college, but Bella has convinced me that is something I should do to give myself a better future. I think that wherever Bella is, I will be." she finished, smiling at me.

"Sounds like a plan," he replied. Just then our server arrived and took our order.

She eyed Alice enviously before taking our order and I caught her glance over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Excuse me ladies," Charlie said just after the server left. "I need to go to the men's room."

As soon as he was out of earshot I leaned over to talk to Alice. "Where did Edward go this morning?"

Her face became serious as she lowered her voice to a barely audible level. "I had a vision early this morning. Victoria sent a scout into town and Emmett was patrolling. He caught him and took him back to our place."

I inhaled sharply, interupting her explination. "It's okay Bella, trust me. It's only one guy, Edward left you this morning to go talk to him, to see if he can get anything out of him."

"Are you sure it's safe, I mean, James was only one guy."

Sensing the worry in my tone she placed her cold hand on mine. "It's not the same, this vampire is just a kid, James had been around for quite a while. This isn't a new vampire, but trust me, he's not expirienced enough to take on the seven of us."

I smiled and tried to get past the sinking feeling in my stomach. Charlie came back to the table just as the waittress came with our food. She almost dropped my pankcakes on the floor. She looked scared to death as she placed the small one-egg omlett in from of Alice. I was surprised when she picked up her fork and actually took a bite of the food.

She caught my expression and let out a musical laugh. "Bella, don't look so surprised, I have to eat too."

Charlie smiled at her, thinking that she probably never ate because she was so skinny. But then again, he's never seen her eat, so the same amusement that was rolling through my mind was probably in his.

I picked at the food on my plate, not really eating any of it, but making it look like I had. My appatite had dissapreared with Alice's annoyncement.

"Bella," she chirped. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"

I laughed and chewed on a piece of pancake just to make her happy. Just like Edward she was always worried about me eating. The rest of the Cullen's would tend to forget.

Soon after we had finished eating we climbed back into the cruiser and went home. Alice followed me up to the front door and into the house. I headed upstairs to my room and she followed me.

"Who's on watch tonight?" I asked, sitting on my bed.

"Edward and Jasper," she mumbled, digging through my closet. "So you're going to come stay with me tonight."

So that's why she was grabbing my clothes.

"Okay," I said. "Have fun convincing Charlie."

"He'll say yes. I'm going to tell him that Edward went with Jasper and Emmett to stay the night in Seattle."

"Okay."

I followed her downstairs, carrying my duffle bag. I went to the kitchen and snacked on a granola bar while I listened to Alice convince Charlie to let me go with her. Not to my surprise, he said yes. I've learned to not doubt Alice. I said a quick goodbye and headed to the red convertible. The top was down and the wind felt good in my hair, blowing all around my face.

I loved the wind. When Edward had left me, the wind reminded me of him, constantly. It reminded me of the first time he took me running, and when he would move so fast that the only indication that he had moved at all was the slight breeze he created. I loved the wind.

"Alice?" I questioned.

"Yes," she kept her eyes on the road speading by.

"Is he still at your house?"

She knew who I was talking about. "Yes."

"So why are we going there?" I asked, my voice becoming panicked.

"Edward told me to bring you. He wouldn't tell me why though."

I watched as the lights of the big white house came into view. For some reason, just the thought of being with this family made me feel safer. Even though Edward had warned me many times that it wasn't safe to be anywhere near it, being that I was the only blood filled creature to walk through the door.

"Let's go." Alice said, pulling the top back onto the car.

We walked into the house to find the first floor completely empty. Alice didn't bother to ask where everyone was, she could hear them though I couldn't. I followed her up the stairs and towards Edward's closed door. This is where Alice stopped.

"Bella, I promise that nothing will happen. We _will_ protect you. There is nothing this boy can do to us."

"I believe you," I said, although my stomach didn't quite believe her. She pushed open the door and I followed her into the room of my one true love, the room that I now feared most of.

Every vampire I knew was scattered about the large room. Rosalie and Esme were sitting on the couch but not looking the least bit relaxed. Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Carlisle were circled around the prisoner who, from where I could see, was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room.

I stepped forward and into Edward's arms. The prisoner looked up at me and a smile spread across his face. "Bella."

I almost fell over when I looked in his eyes. "Austin."

A/N: Hahahaha. Cliff hanger! sorry guys...had to do it! lol But anyways, I'm trying to make my chapters longer, but once again, Evil Sister 1 and Evil Sister 2 haven't let me on hardly at all the past couple of days. I'll try to update sooner! Remember...REVIEW!!!!!!!! they make me happy and when i'm happy i write faster! Love Ya!!!!!


	9. Why He's Here

Chapter 9

"Bella, darling," he said happily. "How long's it been, ten, eleven years?"

"Oh my goodness. Austin." I was still astonished to see the person who was sitting in front of me was actually sitting in front of me.

"Bella," Edward said nervously. "Do you know this man?"

"I, I..." but I couldn't get the sentence out.

The truth was I did know him. He had lived next door to me since before I was born. He was a year older than me and we had been best friends for the longest time. Then his parents were killed in a car accident and I hadn't even gotten to say goodbye, he was taken away to live with family. I hadn't seen him since I was seven years old. I hadn't fully understood why he had left until I was older.

"Bella," came Edward's voice. "He knows you, Bella. I see it in his mind."

"It's been so long, I...I," I started stuttering again.

The vampire sitting in the middle of the circle found this amusing and a wide grin spread across his face. "Shall I explain love?"

I couldn't answer. I just nodded my head.

"You see, Bella here lived next door to me back in good old Pheonix. But my 'rents were killed when I was eight and I was sent to live with my dear granddad. Now he croaked when I was seventeen and that sent me into a spiral of self destructiveness. That's when I met a friend who offered me a way to kill the pain, forever."

He looked down at the floor, avoiding my eyes.

"Marshmallo." I whispered.

His grin returned to his face. "You remember, Cruella."

A small chuckle escaped my lungs. I was surprised so I tried to speak again. "You were my best friend."

"Ah yes," he said, returning his gaze to the floor. "_Was_. But then again, now that I see the crowd you run with these days it might have all been for the best."

Edward let out a furious growl as soon as the words left his mouth.

"You see love? A temper that one has!"

"Why are you talking like that?" I interrupted.

"Like what?"

"Like, I don't know, like a english person." I deffinatly didn't remember that part of him.

"Oh," he said, dropping the accent at once. "It's, uh, part of my disquise."

I glanced at Edward. I had no idea what was going on, but apparently he did. He didn't seem at all surprised by the announcement.

"Will someone _please_ tell me what in the world is going on!" I snapped.

"You see, Bella. I met Victoria a few months ago, I'm guessing right after your little run in with her mate. Anyway, she was recruiting all kinds of vampires and I happened to cross upon her. I was just passing through the town she was camped out in when she asked me to join her coven. I was reluctant, I've almost always been on my own. After asking why she was gathering a coven together, I learned of your existance. I was sure that it wasn't the same Bella I had known as a child, but I had to be sure, so I agreed to join her."

"Wow," I said, tired from trying to follow the story. "So wait, I'm so confused. Are you with her?"

"Yes," he replied simply.

"So are you against us?"

"No."

"Edward," I cried and fell into his arms. "What's going on?"

"Shh," he soothed, running a cool hand through my hair. "From what I can find out, he's willing to betray Victoria and help us get her before she gets you."

The thought of Victoria made my stomach become an entangled knot.

"He's going to give us all the information we need to attack her and her coven." Carlisle said, finally breaking a short awkward silence. "For now, you should go with Edward."

I nodded and turned to leave, Edward's arm around my waist. He guided me to his room and I sat indian style on the floor. I looked out the window as the sun illuminated the trees outside. It was just after ten in the morning, but I already had a headache and wanted to go to sleep.

"Edward," I sighed, my face resting in my hands.

"Bella, how many times do we have to tell you before you believe us," he said as he swept me into his arms. "Everything will be okay."

"I'm almost starting to believe you." I curled into a ball as he set me onto the couch. "Do you really think Austin can help?"

"I believe so, I couldn't find any signs that he was being dishonest when I looked at his mind, but I'm not going to trust him. Not yet, anyway." He interlocked his hand in mine and stared blankly out the window.

"What do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

"This is enough," he said, smiling into my hair. I turned my face up to his and he gently touched his lips with mine. When he pulled away I nuzzled myself into his cold embrace and together we watched the light fall from the sky.


	10. Jacob Black

Chapter 10

"Wake up, Bella."

"Leave me alone." I moaned, not wanting to be pulled from the heaven that my mind had created in my sleep. "Sllleeepppyy."

I sat up when I heard the voice chuckle, cleary amused.

"Emmett, go away!" I yelled without opening my eyes. When he burst into loud melodious laughter I shot a pillow at him.

"Bella, please, Edward wiill kill me if, if..." he started, but stopped when I sat up. He burst into even louder laughter when he saw the look on my face.

"Emmett! Get her down her now, you idoit!" yelled Jasper from downstairs. Then, in a quieter voice but still very audible, "can't even handle a simple human girl."

"Would you like to come get her then?" Emmett mumbled, silencing Jasper immediatly.

"Where's Edward?" I asked, just realizing that he wasn't where I left him. "Emmett?"

"Shh..." he hushed me, his face screwed up into an expression that showed he was concentrating very hard. "The dogs are here."

"What?" I jumped up and grabbed a t-shirt and clean pair of jeans out of Edward's closet. He surprised me one day with an entire wardrobe and my own side of the closet. After a long and drawn out protest, I agreed to keep the clothes as long as he made Alice promise not to by me any more for at least two months.

After throwing on my favorite hoodie and tying my gym shoes, I climbed into Emmett's open arms. We flew downstairs and were greated by an irritated Rosalie. I looked around, searching for Jasper, but there was no sight of him. She knew that what Emmett had said got to him.

"So where's Edward?" I asked out loud, not particularly to anyone.

"Circling the house with Jasper and Carlisle," said Rosalie, handing me a large duffle bag. "Alice, Esme and me will stay close to the car while Emmett rides with you and your mutt friend to La Push."

I looked in shock between the two of them, the shock cleary written all over my face.

"Bella," Emmett said in a calming voice. "Victoria is moving, we found three of conven members close by, we're moving you to throw them off. You will stay in La Push until it's safe to come back."

"But...but...how will I...what will you...why..." I stopped as I felt my chest constrict. I wrung my hands together and tried to inhale, but my lungs felt like they were on fire. I gasped for air as the room began to spin.

"Bella, sit down. Put your head between your knees and concentrate on breathing," came a surprisingly sweet voice. Two pairs of cold, steel hands guided me towards a chair and patted my back as I tried to calm down.

I looked through blurry eyes into the calm face of Rosalie. "What if something happens? I'm not worth all of this."

"Bella, trust us, we will be fine. Besides, we have those silly dogs helping us this time." She smiled and I tried to return the gesture, but failed miserably.

"But last time it was only James. Now there's an entire coven...I couldn't handle it if anyone got hurt, much less if any one of you got...got..." but I had another panick attack and was forced to put my head back between my knees.

As soon as I could breath again Emmett escorted me out to the highway where we met up with Jacob and his rabbit. He smiled sheepishly as Emmett set me on the ground in front of him. I looked around to see any sign of the family I'd come to love, but was dissapointed to see nothing but endless trees and greenness, so I climbed gloomily into the backseat of Jacob's car and tried to concentrate on breathing in and out evenly.

The silnce in the car was almost unbearable after only five minutes. I tapped on the floor board with my sneaker and twitched my fingers. I couldn't stand the empty nothingness in the air.

"Where am I staying?" I asked quietly, not looking away from the green sea swiling past my window.

"With me," Jacob replied. I noticed Emmett growl quietly, and I knew if I heard it then Jacob heard it, too.

"Or she could just stay in a nice hotel by herself and wait for Victoria to find her."

That silenced the car again. Tears slowly leaked over my eyelids and I swiftly brushed them away, not wanting either of the other two passangers to know she was crying. I stared out the window and saw a flash of white. I couldn't help thinking it could be the last glimpse of Alice or Esme. I pushed the thought from my mind, not wanting to cause another panick attack and fiddled with the strings of my hoodie.

"Where's Austin?" I questioned. I saw Emmett roll his eyes.

"That crazy man is with Victoria. He's going to feed her false information, tell her we've sent you to Seattle." He replied.

"Won't she be able to track me from your house to Jacob's?" I asked concerned.

"The ladies are taking care of that. They've taken clothes from various humans in the area and are wearing about four outfits each. Trust me, no one will be able to track your scent. They're roaming all over the forest so that no one can follow any one trail."

"Wow, you've thought of anything," I sighed.

The rest of the way home was completely silent, neither front seat passenger acknowlegdeing the other's presence, the gentle hum of the well-crafted engine making the only sound. The small Black house soon came into view and Bella began to panick again. As I climbed out of the backseat, Jacob carried her bag into the house and left the front door open me.

I turned to Emmett who had left the Rabbit and was standing at my side.

"Be careful, make sure Edward doesn't do anything stupid, please. Just...just..." I had stop because I couldn't breathe again.

"Don't worry, Bella. Everything will be fine."

"You sound like Edward," I choked out through the free flowing tears.

"Well you know sometimes my brother is right, it's not very often, but happen it does." I looked at his brotherly smile and threw my arms around his neck.

"I want you to know that I love you, you're like the big brother I never had but always needed. I still need you, all of you, even Rosalie," I sniffed. The last name caught him off guard and he was almost laughing. "Tell Edward to be safe. Please?"

He smiled and hugged me tighter. "I will."

"Emmett...can't...breathe," I muttered. He laughed his booming laugh and released my spine from his iron grip.

"That's one of the reasons I'm doing this, because things would be so boring without you around." He chuckled one last time and kissed me softly on the cheek. I watched the spot where he had been for a few moments after he disappeared. I trudged up to the house as the late morning sun was concealed behind thick rain clouds.

I closed the front door and sank into the coushins of the living room couch, tears still pouring from my eyes. A few minutes went by before Jacob entered the living room and sat next to me.

"You can sleep in my room," he said without looking at me.

"I couldn't do that, Jake. I'll stay out here on the couch."

"No," he said as he grabbed my bag. "They'll be no arguing, you're staying in a bed."

I followed him to the small room and sat on the edge of the bed. Resting my head in my hands I let out a long sigh. I felt Jacob sit next to me. "I've got some life, huh? Always in danger, that's me. Relying on everyone else to keep me safe."

I held back tears as I realised that it wasn't only the vampires I had to worry about, but the werewolves, also. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I dropped my head to my knees and ran my fingers through my hair. My lungs began to burn and little black spots appeared in front of my eyes.

"Bella?" came Jacob's worried voice from somewhere far away. "What's wrong?"

I held up my hand to signal for him to just wait a minute. I concentrated on inhaling and trying to get the panick attack to subside. Slowly, the spots disappeared and my lungs were able to function again. I sat up and looked at Jacob appolagitically.

"Sorry, panick attack." I breathed.

He gave me a look that almost showed pitty, but it was quickly lost when he stood up and left the room momentarily, returning with a glass of water. "Here."

I took the glass from his hand and slowly sipped the cool water. "Thanks."

He turned to leave but I stopped him. "Jake."

"What?" his said in a flat tone.

"Really, thank you."

Then he was gone, leaving me with my own tormenting thoughts of my family being torn to shreds.


	11. Bacon

**Disclaimer: Hokey, so, I have realised that it's only right and proper that I should tell you that I own no right to Twilight. I feel bad because I haven't been doing this for all of the chapters. So, anyways, like I said...whatever. **

**A/N: I decided that because most of my chapters weren't that long, I'd spend more time and fill in more detail...I reread the ones I've already written and found all kinds of errors and realized how crappy my writing actually was, so I'm going to try and write better. **

Chapter 11

The smell of bacon wafted through the house. I was hoping that this would wake the sleeping boy, all of my earlier attempts had failed. I flipped the pieces in the pan and turned to the pancakes, making sure not to leave them on one side too long. I wanted to show how greatfull I was to the Quilletes, and cooking kept my mind off of other things.

Things like bleeding werewolves and burning vampires.

I shook my head as I checked on the bisquits that were in the oven. I heard footsteps in the hallway and smiled inwardly.

"Goodmorning, sleepy head," I said, listening to a heavy body slump into one of the kitchen chairs.

"You sure know how to wake a man up, Bella." Embry said, stiffling a yawn. "I've never smelt anything so good coming from a kitchen that Emily wasn't in."

I laughed. "Well, I figure it's the least I could do, you know, with everything you all are doing for me."

I scramled some eggs in a plastic bowl.

"If I knew this was how you were going to thank me, I'd have done you favors more often," his laughter filled the small kitchen.

I pulled the bacon out of the pan and placed it on a plate on the table, slapping away Embry's eager hand.

"So, how did you sleep last night?" I asked him, placing the pancakes next to the bacon.

"Pretty well considering the fact that we spent all night running in circles," he replied rubbing his dark eyes.

I made sure the eggs weren't sticking to the pan before making sure to change the subject. "The couch is a little small, you should have taken Jacob's bed. I'd be more than happy to sleep out here."

"Bella," he said, standing up and chewing on piece of a little too crispy bacon. "Even if Jacob hadn't issued a death threat to anyone making you sleep anywhere but his bed, I couldn't do that to you. Besides, I like the couch. The bed has fleas."

I allowed a laugh to escape my lips as I set the eggs along side the bacon and pancakes. Soon the tabe was cluttered enough to make it look like it was set for an entire family instead of two people.

This is how things usually worked. In the short week I had spent at the Black's home, I'd only actually spent two days with Jacob himself. The pack circulated who would watch me day after day. After the first morning of me thinking myself into oblivion with deathly thoughts, I decided that I needed to keep my mind off such thoughts, leading me to the stove.

Sam was distant. He ate the food I made, but rarely spoke. I hated the day he stood watch. His silence left my mind open to all kinds of things. Things that not even Billy's laundry could keep away.

But I liked it when Quill and Embry came, they were both rather talkative and easily kept my mind on other things. This was Embry's second visit. He said he needed the sleep, but I think he just liked the food too much to stay away. While he ate, I continued to busy myself around the house. I had already cleaned Jacob's room to the best of my abilities, the rest I left to him. The bathroom was shinning, the kitchen was pristine, even Billy's room was straightened up. The only room left in the house that wasn't perfectly spotless was the living room, and that was only because there was usually a wolf fast asleep on the sofa.

I saw Embry stuffing his face as an opportunity to clean through the messy living room. I was dusting the small television set when I heard a deep howl. I looked up instantly to see an apologetic look on my babysitter's face.

"I'll be right back," Embry said, standing up from the table. "You won't be alone, Billy's here. I shouldn't be too long, I just have to find out what's going on."

And with that he was hustling out the front door, leaving me alone in the small living room. I slumped down onto the couch and fussed with the fabric, picking at the small pulls here and there. I stood up and went into the small kitchen. I was able to pile the remaining food onto two plates and started to clean the dishes. I had just finished the pan I had fried the bacon in when a squeaking noise alerted me to Billy's prescence.

"I heard the call," he said. "So I came out to stay with you."

"I'm not a child," I replied. "I don't need to be watched every second of the day."

He laughed at my words. "Ah, but Bella my dear, I have been on this earth for a long, long time. Trust my words, you _are_ a child."

I glared at him.

"Not that that's a bad thing," he said quickly, seeing the aggitation on my face. "It just means there's much for you to see and learn."

"And I plan on seeing a lot of things, Billy."

"Yes, I'm sure you do," he replied, wheeling himself to the table.

"Are you hungry?" I asked him. "Embry ate most of the food, but I could make you something."

"If you stay here much longer," he told me, picking at the left over bacon. "Then I'll need a wider wheelchair."

I laughed at this, but as I did, Embry came bursting through the back door, breathing hard and moving fast. He stormed through the kitchen and grabbed me by the wrist, pulling me to Jacob's room.

"Grab all of you things," he said, pulling my bag from under the bed where I had stowed it. Billy's chair could be heard squeaking along the floor before coming to a stop in the doorway.

"What is it, boy?"

"There was a fight," he replied, throwing all of my clothes and even some of Jacob's into the bag. "A big one. Something happened. When we found them, they were fighting amongst each other, everything was out of control. We waited with the others, your group," he said in my direction, "until they stopped. They eliminated half of their own before the realized we were watching. Some fled, others fought. The redhead, she got past our lines, her trail was headed this way."

I realized that he must have been telling this news through one of the other's eyes.

He looked up at me with an angry expression. "One of them got Quil. He's alive, but barely. You have to get out of here. Charlie thinks that you are staying with Emily, right?"

"What about the others?" I asked him, "The Cullens, are they alright?"

"You're going to need to call him later and tell him that you went with her somewher, I don't know, Port Angeles or something, to stay the night. You're going to have to..."

"Embry, wait!" I interupted. He had began pacing around the room right after Billy squeaked away, disappering. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"Oh yes you are! We haven't been doing all of this just for the leech to come here and kill you! Quil didn't almost die just now just so you coud ruin everything we've worked for!"

His statement sent my mind into overdrive, already formulating a plan by the time he was out the door. "Call them."

"What?"

"Call all of them back here!" I grabbed my bag out of his hands, making him stop what he was doing. I sat down on the bad until he would look me in the eyes. "Look, Embry, I have a plan."

He looked skeptical.

"Look," I repeated. "She's coming here, right? And if we could lead her back to the rest of the pack, you could take care of her, easy."

He still looked skeptical.

"If you wait any longer, she'll be too close!" I yelled at him. He seemed to diliberate for a moment, then he ran from the doorway.

I stayed where I was, listening for his call. It still made me jump when I heard it. After what seemed like hours, I heard the door to the house slam open then shut again. I could hear him talking quietly to Billy, informing him of what we were about to do.

I threw my bag down and pulled out my jacket, throwing it over my shoulders. I twisted my hair back and pulled it into a tight ponytail.

Embry's tall figure was in the doorway within seconds. His face told me that my plan went over well enough for the rest of the pack. "Quickly, we're going to cirlce around and come up behind the pack, she should follow us straight to them."

"Okay," I breathed. "Did you find out anything about Edward?"

He didn't say anything.

"Let's go," I whispered.

And with that I trailed behind him and through the front door. I glanced back to see Billy speaking quietly on the phone. Probably to Charlie.

I walked through the front door, closing it behind me, to find a large fury wolf standing in front of me.

"What is this?" I asked. "Do you expect me to ride on your back?"

The head of the wolf moved up and down, signalling that was exactly what he expected me to do.

"I suppose it's the only way." I muttered. I walked up to his tall form and gripped the fur the covered his neck and shoulders. "I'm not that tall you know!"

The sound the came from his muzzle was supposed to be a laugh, but came out more like a cough. Embry kneeled, allowing me to dig my foot into the groove of his front leg. I made sure to dig my heel into his muscle just a little bit to make up for him laughing at me.

As soon as I was in place, Embry took off, running so fast it felt like we were flying. His speed and agility seemed unaffected by my presence. Just like when I was with Edward, this seemed natural for the wolf, like breathing. I had come to learn that when Edward was running with me, I had no reason to worry about stray branches or trees trying to grab at me. With Embry, I had no idea if he would doge nature as easily.

But he seemed to have no trouble with it at all. I clutched as tightly as I could to the fur on the boy's back. It was a few seconds before I even realized the wind no longer licked at my face, that the ground had stopped moving beneath me. I looked ahead of where we had stopped and saw nothing but trees. Everywhere I looked there was nothing but green forest. There was no sign of Victoria or the rest of the pack. I leaned close to Embry's ear.

"Is she hear?" I whispered.

He responded with a gentle nod.

"And the pack?"

When he didn't respond, I gripped his fur tighter. All of the sudden, the wolf beneath me let out a long, loud howl. 

And then I was flying, my burly protector no longer in my grip.

**A/N: Haha...sort of a little cliffy there. I had to do it. I'll try to do my best to update this quickly. D **

**p.s.**

**i like reviews...you know the delio. lol**


	12. Kendra

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any part of Twilight, New Moon or Eclipse! Thanks for all of the great reviews!!! Here's the next chapter!!! I know that it's been soooo long since I've updated and I apologize for that. But I've been totally wrapped up in Harry Potter fanficdom. I'm sorry. I'll try harder to stay with this! I promise! **

Chapter 12

The sensation of flying was different than anything I'd ever felt before. I don't think I liked it. I was traveling faster than Edward had ever taken me. Time seemed to stop as I flew through the air.

But it didn't last very long.

Time caught up with me quickly as I came to a stop. At first I didn't realize I wasn't moving anymore. Only the searing, familiar pain in my chest brought me back to reality, and I discovered I couldn't breathe. I gasped for air, frantically searching the empty woods for some sign of the wolf I had just been separated from.

The pain in my chest was getting worse as my breathing quickened. I braced myself against the tree that I had collided with mid-air. I stood as still as possible and listened. I couldn't hear anything; there was no wind, no animals. Nothing signaled to any other life forms amongst the dark trees. From my left came a deep roar, whether it was from friend or foe, I wasn't sure. In the few seconds of silence that followed, I quickly weighed my options.

I could run. But in all honesty I knew I wouldn't get far. Even if I was able to run three steps without falling over my own two feet, I wouldn't know where to go. Everywhere I turned there were endless trees. On foot, it took me days to even find a place that took Edward mere minutes to reach. And Embry could almost match his speed. In any case, I was lost.

I could hide. But I was just kidding myself. If I could find a spot that I was sure I wouldn't be seen, my scent would be easily detected.

So I stood where I was, rooted to the ground like the tree I was leaning against. My eyes darted in every direction, searching for anything, any sign of life.

Minutes turned to hours, hours into day, days back into minutes. Time seemed to blur into nothing and as I stood there, I lost complete track of it. My legs became numb and my chest burned, I knew that I had at least on broken rib, the feeling was very familiar.

I decided that since it appeared no one was going to eat me, _yet_, the only thing staying here was going to achieve was slow starvation. And that didn't seem like the best idea. I slowly stepped away from my tree, trying to breathe as little as possible. I glanced into the green ocean and decided on a random route. I tried the best I could to head in the same direction we came from, but had no clue where that was.

_Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot._

I was concentrating as hard as I could on not falling. So far, it was working, but it only took a few minutes before I was completely out of breath and had to sit down. A nearby fallen tree made a good resting spot.

As I sat, I listened again for any signs of life. When I heard none, I dropped my face into my hands and let out a held in sob.

"Don't cry little human," came a voice to my left. It was a higher pitched voice and clearly female. It was also definitely a vampire's voice. No human could make such a beautiful sound. And it was definitely not a vampire I was accustomed with.

The thought of an unknown vampire watching me sent chills down my spine and I jumped up.

"Who's there?" I called, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Don't worry about that." The voice was coming from a different direction now and sounded far away. "You shall know soon enough, my face will be the last thing you see on this earth."

A maniacal laugh filtered through the woods.

"Embry!" I screamed, knowing there was no hope for me if I were alone.

"He can't hear you," she said in a sing song voice. "He is dying."

"That's a lie!" I replied in anger, although I knew it could be perfectly true. We never did reach the pack and I had no clue how far away from them we were.

"That could very well be true, or I could be speaking truthfully. You'll never know," the voiced echoed off of the trees. "That's the beautiful torture of it."

Another evil laugh.

"Edward will find me! He'll destroy you." I was hoping to stall any for of pain this woman was planning on inducing. "It's only a matter of time."

"Yes, but a matter of time is all it will take for the life to leave your eyes," the voice came from directly behind me. "And that's all the really matters."

I spun around as fast as I could, but no one was there, just green forest.

"Now I see why your Edward likes keeping you around," the voice was amused now. "You humans are very entertaining; especially before they die. James was very keen on making sure he was always amused before his humans died."

There was a hint of sadness in the voice now. I heard the leaves rustle behind me and slowly turned around.

There she was. A woman who's beauty surpassed even Rosalie's. Her long black hair flowed past her shoulders and curled gently. Her red eyes stood out magnificently against her bright white skin. There were gaps in the trees that let the sunlight pass and lightly land across her face, making diamond stripes caress her features.

She was tall, but her legs made up most of her form. She wore black leather pants with high heeled boots, giving her a very intimidating-but still stunning-image. There was a black leather jacket lying across her shoulders.

"You knew James?" I asked, my voice coming out in a mere squeak.

"You could say that," she laughed dryly as she twirled a large stick in her hands. "But that doesn't matter now. He's gone now. All because your stupid vampire boyfriend."

There was an edge to her voice that told me she and James were more than just acquaintances.

"How did you know him?" I asked, again trying to by myself some time, hoping someone was on there way to save me.

"That is none of your business!" she yelled, her face outraged. But there was something in her eyes showed her emotions. "He loved me."

"But I thought he was Victoria's mate," I said questioningly.

"He was," she smiled, but her eyes were far away. "That was kind of a forced relationship. I'm not going to lie; he did love her at first. But after a few hundred years, her shallow loved faded and he came to me. He loved me more than he ever imagined he could."

"Did you love him?" I asked.

A small smile played on the corners of her perfect mouth. She stared off into the trees. "Yes." She turned to me. "Very much so."

Tears threatened to flow over my eyes lids as I imagined Edward being ripped from my life. For a brief, fleeting moment, I could almost sympathize with this woman. Even almost with Victoria.

"Now you see why I must kill you, I can see the understanding in you face." She slowly started walking towards me. "I have to make Edward feel the pain that I have felt every single day since he murdered my James."

"I don't blame you."

This stopped her movements. "What?"

"I've experienced life without Edward; I'd never want to go through that again. And being immortal, not being able to end that pain. It's awful." I was just mumbling now, not really controlling what was coming out of my mouth. She glanced into the woods, as if waiting for something.

"Well, well, well," came a voice I did recognize. "If it isn't the skank and the human annoyance."

I turned around and there, in the high branches of a nearby tree, sat Victoria. In one swift movement, she leapt down and landed fluidly on the ground. "What lies have you been feeding my next meal?"

"Only lies in your eyes."

"Kendra, when will you learn that mixing fiction with reality will seriously injure your emotional state?" Victoria's voice had an edge to it that I recognized all to well. "And don't call me darling."

"I'll call you whatever I please," Kendra replied. "And you will not go near her."

I flicker of hope swelled in me. Maybe I had connected with her and she no longer wanted me dead. Maybe she just wanted to feel the satisfaction of denying Victoria of what she sought after so fiercely.

"She's mine."

All hope vanished.

"We'll see about that." Victoria slowly stepped towards me. I turned so that I could watch both of them at the same time. Neither woman looked at me; they were too occupied with each other.

Then they both lunged at me in the same millisecond. I could see the blur of Victoria's hand reaching for my throat, but they were stopped by another, black haired, blur. As Kendra passed by me to attack Victoria, she threw me aside and into the surrounding forest. The force of my landing knocked the breath from my chest.

I gasped for air as the two vampires attacked each other mere feet away from me. I rolled onto my stomach and crawled to a nearby tree. I stood up and watched the two women barrel into each other over and over again, becoming colorful blurs every time they moved. And whenever they collided thundered seemed to roll through the trees, shaking the leaves.

Then they began tearing at each other. Large pieces of granite skin began flying through the air, landing all around them. At one point, Kendra threw Victoria through the air and turned towards me.

"Run!" she yelled.

At first I was confused. Victoria attacked her again and sent a piece of her right arm onto the forest floor.

Then I ran.

**A/N: Okay, again, sorry for the long wait. Seriously. I'll try to never ever ever do that again! I feel so bad. And I totally wouldn't blame you if you choose to never ever review my story again. So I should be able to post the next chapter sooner than this one. It's already sorta written. So look for that one soon! **


	13. Broken Ribs

**Disclaimer: I own only what my mind allows me to own, anything unowned by me was owned by anything other than my owned mind. Never mind. I don't own Twilight. **

**A/N: So, here's the next chapter and what not. I don't think I'll take it past 15 chapters before I start a sequel. I'm not sure how to end this one though. Ideas??? Anyone? lol**

**Chapter 13:**

My lungs were burning, but I couldn't stop. I had no clue where I was going, and I knew that there really no use in running. They could track me easily. My determination and focus helped to keep me from falling too many times. I kept running.

After what seemed like hours, I finally had to stop. I had begun to get light headed and the trees seemed to spin. I leaned against a nearby trunk and focused on inhaling. I glanced around and searched the woods for any sign of which direction I should take. There was no indication of the right path.

Then there was a rustling noise to my left. I jumped and hid behind my support tree. I stood there, waiting. But there was silence again. Then it sounded like someone was struggling to breath.

I figured it couldn't be a vampire, because vampires wouldn't be so noisy in their attempt to kill me. I left my tree of sanctuary and slowly went in search for the injured stranger, hoping with all my might it wouldn't be who I thought it might be.

But it was.

I knelt down next to the brown skinned friend who'd tried his hardest to protect me. Embry was lying on his back on the forest floor, trying his hardest to breathe calmly.

"Bella," he whispered. His entire body relaxed when he saw me. There were long, deep gashes running across his chest and blood was steadily flowing from them.

"Embry," I whispered back. Tears were forming in my eyes and I knew my face was turning green. I gripped his wet hand in between both of mine. "What can I do? How can I help you?"

"Stand back," he stuttered. I didn't understand why, but I did what I was told never the less. I didn't want to make anything more difficult for him.

In seconds there was a loud ripping sound and there was no longer a teenager lying in front of me, but a wolf. From the ground, he let out a loud, strangled howl and then started whimpering.

"What can I do?" I repeated, closing the gap I had created and stroking the wolf's fur. He didn't respond, only continued to whimper. I continued to gently pet his fur, trying my hardest not to pass. Soon I heard howls in the distance.

Three wolves appeared from three different directions of the trees, they were followed closely by Jacob, wearing only a cutoff pair of sweatpants.

"Bella," he ran up to me and gathered me into a giant bear hug. "What happened?"

"Ow, Jacob. Can't breathe." He released his grip on me, but didn't let go. "I think I have a broken rip."

"Bells," he kissed the top of my forehead then looked me straight in the eye. "I need to know exactly what happened."

"Can't we do this later? They're still here!" I almost yelled.

"Who is still here?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Victoria, she's here in the woods. We have to get out of here now!"

In one swift movement, I was being cradled in Jacob's strong arms and he was running through the woods. I closed my eyes and let the wing was over me. I knew I was safe, Jacob was here. And I was sure Edward was nearby, there was nothing to worry about.

We stopped in front of the Black's house. I heard Billy's wheelchair pass over the front doorway and looked up. Jacob carried me through the door and set me on the couch.

"Stay here."

"Where's Embry?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Sam and Quil got him and they're almost here. We'll put him in my room for now. In wolf form he'll heal faster." He replied, but saw my nervous expression. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. We're tough."

His warm smile didn't ease my nerves.

"Don't worry, you're safe here. And he's on his way." With that he left the room and went outside to help get the injured wolf into the house.

By the time they had carried Embry into Jacob's tiny room, Edward was at the door. I jumped up and ran to him in spite of the searing pain in my chest.

"I'm never leaving your side again," he whispered into my hair. I knew that if he could, tears would be flowing down his cheeks. They were flowing down mine. Carlisle rushed past us and headed strait for Jacob's room, his medical bag in tow.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" he asked, not letting go of me.

"Almost dieing."

"Well, I forgive you. But can you ever forgive me?" His voice was laced with torture.

"I think I can find a way." He picked me up and carried me back to the couch. He sat down with me in his lap and gently hummed in my ear. It was a familiar tune that I'd learned by heart.

"Carlisle says that your wolf friend should be fine, his wounds are already beginning to heal. Slowly, but in soon he will be good as new." I smiled at this news. "Now, are _you_ alright?"

"I'm not sure. I think so. So far the only thing that serious at all is my ribs, I'm pretty sure I broke a few," I attempted to breathe in very deeply, but gasped at the sharp pain.

"I never should have left you," he said quietly. "What happened out there?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure," I started. "I remember Embry running through the woods, but then he was gone. It was like I collided with an invisible wall. I was thrown into a tree and I guess that's when I busted up my ribs. I'm not sure what happened to Embry after we were separated because I didn't see who attacked us. I wondered around for a while, I don't know how long, until she found me."

He looked at me as if he were trying to figure things out. "Who found you?"

"Kendra."

There was a sharp intake of breath and I looked over at Edward. He looked astounded. "I never thought…"

"Do you know her?" I asked, feeling a ridiculous twinge of jealousy.

"I know _of_ her. She was a good person when she was younger, newer. I knew that she had spent some time with the Volturi, that's when I stopped associating with them. I never thought she'd come here."

"She was here for the same reason as Victoria, that's how I got away."

His face gave away his confusion.

"She was going to kill me. She said that she and James were in love or something. She wanted you to feel the hurt she feels."

Sadness flashed across his eyes before I continued.

"That's when Victoria showed up, right before Kendra was going to kill me. They started arguing over who would do it, it turned pretty ugly. I ran and found Embry." I inhaled and grabbed my side, wincing.

Edward's cool hands replaced mine and he felt where the bones were sore.

"Two of them are broken."

"Its fine," I said, hugging him around the neck, not ever wanting to let go.

"No, Bella, it's far from fine," he pulled back so he could look me in the eye. "I promise you, there will never be another broken bone in your body as long as you live."

I had to laugh at that. "That should be a pretty tuff job, seeing as I ten to break bones when I walk. Tripping isn't the easiest thing to prevent."

My attempt to lighten his spirit worked, he laughed a quiet musical laugh.

"That's true. I love you, Bella, so much." He gripped the sides of my face with both hands and gently kissed my lips. Just then Jacob walked in followed by Carlisle.

"Bella," Carlisle said. "I'm so happy you're okay."

"I'm happy all of you are okay." I replied. Then I remember I didn't know if everyone was accounted for or not. "Everyone _is_ okay, right?"

"Yes, Bella," Edward said, sensing my tension. "Everyone is intact."

Carlisle sighed. "We had no clue what was going on. Victoria sent a small group to the south so we decided to investigate; we thought she might attack from there. It was a trap, while we were there, she attacked from the north. By the time we got back here it was over, Jacob had you."

"So was there a fight?" I asked.

"No," Edward whispered.

"If you are alright, Bella," Jacob said viciously. "I'd appreciate you taking them back to there side of the line as soon as possible."

I glared at him.

"Please?" he spat.

"Fine," I stood up and walked towards the door. "Tell Embry I'll come see him soon."

I left the small house and stood in the front yard with Edward by my side, waiting for Carlisle who stayed behind for a moment.

"I'll carry you," Edward whispered. I looked around and realized they must have ran here because there was no vehicle.

"Okay, I don't think I can hang on to your shoulders though."

"It's okay," he said, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

"Let's go home," I said and kissed his cheek. He lifted me off of the ground into his arms and after Carlisle appeared, took off running.


End file.
